The present invention concerns a novel plastic storage and transportation bag having vents to allow moist heated air to be removed from the body of the bag such that food transported therein may retain its freshness.
Grocery stores and fast food restaurants, as well as other restaurants that offer a take out menu, are packaging foods in plastic bags which are durable, strong, easy to carry, easy to store and are economical to manufacture and use. Such bags are typically airtight and most are designed to keep air out so as to keep foods from becoming stale. However, when transporting hot foods, or fresh baked items, airtight bags tend to not only keep fresh air out, but also keep moist hot air in. Such moist hot air tends to soften baked goods, sandwich breads, fried foods and other items such that dining pleasures are diminished. Fresh cooked items transported in such bags often have the appearance and flavor of left-overs rather than fresh cooked food.
Attempts have been made to circumvent the effect of moist hot air within a plastic bag, but these efforts have generally proven ineffective. In most of these attempts, ventilation holes or slits are made in plastic bags, but as a result of the placement of the ventilation holes or slits and the natural stresses in plastic bags, especially those held from above by handles incorporated in the plastic, the holes or slits fail to open to a desirable degree, and moist hot air remains in the bag to break down the food. Such attempts are found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,152 where a T-shirt type plastic bag for carrying hot food is described and U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,269 where an automatic ventilating system for plastic bags is described.
It has been found, however, that the holes or slits defined in bags constructed in accordance with the teachings of these patents often do not open in food transport situation and, as such, are insufficient to keep moist hot air away from hot foods carried therein. In most cases, because of the placement of the holes or slits and/or the design of the slits or holes described therein, the holes and slits fail to open allowing very little or no ventilation.
Further, placement of too many holes or slots, to overcome the lack of ventilation, may weaken the plastic bag such that a structural failure may occur causing the loss of the contents of the bag and a mess.
It would be desirable to have a plastic bag that could be economically and inexpensively produced, stored in quantity in small spaces, and which can store and transport fresh hot foods such that the foods remain fresh and hot. Further, it would be desirable for such a bag be strong and durable and have a desirable appearance both when stored and when in use.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.
In accordance with the present invention, a receptacle having at least a front and a back panel and forming a body for carrying objects is provided with a plurality of vents. In a preferred embodiment of the receptacle, the vents are cut into the material of the receptacle and are arcuate in shape. In a preferred embodiment the receptacle is a plastic bag. In one embodiment, the arcuate cuts of the receptacle or bag of the present invention are in the form of half circles, each half circle perforating the body of the bag such that a flap is formed. The vents are placed on the body of the bag in pairs and located such that the endpoints of each half circle vent is located within the half circle of another vent.
In one embodiment of the present invention, pairs of vents are placed on the body of the bag to give maximum opening of the vents when the bag is in use. The vents are so placed so that they do not interfere with the stress caused by the use of a built in handle when the bag is carrying an object. In this manner, the vent cuts, which are in effect holes in the structure of the bag, do not affect the strength of the bag. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a bag having front and rear panels as well as side gusset panels is provided. Further, in one embodiment, the bag includes square bottom seals.
It is a feature of the present invention that there is no limit to the style of bag into which the pairs of vents may be defined. The vents of the present invention may be cut or punched into any style bag including but not limited to sinewave (wavy top), deli, side gusseted, bottom gusseted, recloseable, bottom and side sealed, as known by those having skill in the art. Further, the bag of the present invention may be manufactured on conventional bag making equipment with only minimal changes necessary.
The bag of the present invention may be made from plastic tubing or sheeting stock of various gauges and widths depending on the ultimate application for which the bag will be used. It is to be understood that the bag of the present invention may be made of a number of other materials, and variations of the thicknesses of the materials, without departing from the novel scope of the present invention.
The bag of the present invention may be made so that each individual bag is loose, or headered, or saddled, as known by those having skill in the art. The bag may be made in any of the above noted manners depending on the needs of the user. The bag of the present invention can include a handle aperture, which allows for the creation of a handle thereon. The bag can also include square-bottom seals, such as those made, on a four layer side gusseted bag, by heat-sealing the outer two layers of the side gussets together at approximately 45E angle from the bottom apex of the fold while not sealing the two inner layers together.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, handles are defined in the front and rear panels of the bag in such a manner that the handles are generally formed after the placement of objects within the bag by the weight of the object applied to openings and perforations defined in the bag panels. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a handle design is defined in the front and rear panels of the bag in such a manner that the handles widen out when your hand is inserted. The handle is in the form of a reversed teardrop with the top being of a size having a range from 1 to 1.5 inches, preferably at least 1.25 inches in diameter, and the bottom being of a size having a range of between 0.25 and 0.375 inches, preferably at least 0.375 inches in diameter. The sides of the handle meet at the tangent of both of these diameters. It will be understood by persons having skill in the art that a range of sizes and shapes may be used for the handle of such bags without departing from the novel scope of the present invention.
A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following description and claims and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.